Hours ago, at 1:32 a.m. Eastern time, NASA's Curiosity rover successfully landed on the surface of Mars, kicking off a new era for the American space agency and sending cheers across the Internet in celebration of humanity's latest scientific milestone.

The spacecraft carrying the 1-ton, car-sized rover, the largest robotic probe ever deployed to another planet, was launched into space last November. The goal of the rover is to carry out experiments designed to assess the viability of human missions to the planet, as well as determine if any life existed on the planet in the past.

Covering 154 million miles, the 36-week flight finally culminated in what NASA called "seven minutes of terror," a nickname assigned to the delicate window of time during which the rover would attempt to land undamaged on the planet's surface. In the past, such a momentous event would have been the sole domain of television networks, but this morning's drama unfolded with the assistance of new tools like Ustream, where the NASA broadcast the landing live, and Twitter, where thousands of space enthusiasts tweeted their observations and enthusiastic support for the mission.

Although the messages from the spacecraft confirming its progress were delayed by 14 minutes, the live tension and excitement inside the NASA control room was palpable. When Curiosity finally confirmed its successful landing on the planet's surface, the control team erupted into celebration, followed by a wave of support from those following the proceedings remotely. According to reports from several Twitter users in New York's Times Square, where the event was broadcast on the well-known big screen, a crowd numbering in the hundreds broke out into a chant of "Science! Science! Science!" and then "NASA! NASA! NASA!"

"This robotic laboratory will seek answers to one of humanity's oldest questions as it investigates whether conditions have favored development of microbial life on the Red Planet," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "The mission is a critical planetary science mission - and a precursor to sending humans to the Red Planet in the 2030s a goal set forth by President Obama."

"Tonight, on the planet Mars, the United States of America made history," President Obama said in a statement. "It proves that even the longest of odds are no match for our unique blend of ingenuity and determination."

"I congratulate and thank all the men and women of NASA who made this remarkable accomplishment a reality–and I eagerly await what Curiosity has yet to discover," Obama concluded.

As the historic event played out, the Internet community swiftly warmed to the topic in a uniquely 21st century fashion. On Twitter, users created parody accounts devoted the mission and the planet itself, quickly gaining followers interested in the space-themed humor tweets. And on Tumblr a new site popped up focused on Bobak Ferdowsi, the Mohawk-wearing Curiosity flight director, who suddenly became the new, cooler face of NASA. For those who may have missed the broadcast, NASA has archived the video event on Ustream.

Curiosity's investigation of Mars is scheduled to last for about two years, but because the rover is nuclear-powered, there is speculation that it could continue to operate for up to eight years. Not long ago, following the mothballing of the space shuttle program, speculation about NASA's future led some to wonder if the space agency was past its best days. But, according to Bolden, the Curiosity mission is proof to the contrary.

"With the retirement of the Shuttle program after its final flight in July 2011, some have suggested that NASA’s leadership in the exploration of space, including our extraordinary successes on Mars, was coming to an end," Bolden said. "Nothing could be further from the truth… In 2017, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit."

And while NASA does expect to garner valuable data from the Curiosity rover in the coming months, the organization isn't pinning its hopes solely on this one mission. The space agency has plans to launch two more missions next year, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) orbiter, both designed explore Mars' upper atmospherea and ionosphere.

"I am so proud of the NASA team that has made tonight’s challenging milestone possible," Bolden said. "However, tomorrow we begin to plan for the next great challenge, and start compiling incredible scientific data from Curiosity."